The Life of CrustaceaCalman, W. T. (William Thomas)
Science
The Life of Crustacea
Calman, W. T. (William Thomas)
Crustacea
A more complex adaptation of structure to the habit of sand-burrowing is
found in the Masked Crab (_Corystes cassivelaunus_--Plate XIV.). This
Crab is common on the British coast, living in moderately deep water
wherever the bottom is sandy, and it has received its English name from
the fact that the furrows on the back of the carapace give it a
grotesque resemblance to a human face. It is noteworthy, among other
things, for the marked difference between the sexes, the male having
very long, slender chelipeds, while those of the female are quite
short. The most remarkable features of its organization, however, have
to do with its habit of burrowing in sand. The antennæ, which in most
Crabs are extremely short, are in this species as long as the body, and
each bears a double fringe of stiff hairs disposed along the upper and
under sides of the antenna, but curved inwards, so that when the two
antennæ are brought together parallel with each other, the hairs
interlock and form a long tube. At its base this tube communicates with
a space in front of the mouth, into which open the channels from the
gill chamber at the front corners of the mouth-frame. The Crab burrows
in fine sand, and the process is thus described by Professor Garstang:
"The Crab sits upright on the surface of the sand; the elongated,
talon-like claws of the four hindmost pairs of legs dig deeply into the
sand; the body of the Crab is thus forcibly pulled downwards by the grip
of the legs, and the displaced sand is forced upwards on the ventral
side of the body by the successive diggings and scoopings of the legs;
the slender chelate arms of the first thoracic pair assist in the
process of excavation by thrusting outwards the sand which accumulates
round the buccal region of the descending Crab." In this way the Crab
descends deeper and deeper, until nothing is visible above the surface
of the sand but the tips of the antennæ. The antennal tube keeps open a
channel leading from the buried Crab to the water above. Since this
tube communicates at its base with the passages through which the water
passes _out_ from the gill chamber in most Crabs, it was assumed by the
older observers that the antennal tube served to carry the outflowing
water to the surface of the sand. It has recently been shown, however,
by Professor Garstang that when the Masked Crab is buried in sand the
normal respiratory current is reversed, water being drawn _down_ the
antennal tube, into the gill chambers, and passing out through the
openings at the base of the chelipeds which, when the Crab is not
buried, serve for its entrance.
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